UNGA 59: DUTCH CAUTION ON CLONING, DEMOCRACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 001791

SIPDIS

IO FOR LAGON; DRL FOR KOZAK; GENEVA FOR DELAURENTIS; USUN
FOR SIV, TAMLYN, SPIRNAK, ZACK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2014
TAGS: ECON PHUM KDEM AORC NL UNGA UN
SUBJECT: UNGA 59: DUTCH CAUTION ON CLONING, DEMOCRACY
CAUCUS, MIDDLE EAST

REF: A. STATE 152009

B. THE HAGUE 1737

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY ANDREW SCHOFER, POLCOUNS, FOR REASONS 1.4
AND D


1. (U) SUMMARY: IO DAS Lagon shared Reftel A points with Karel van
Kesteren, Director of UN affairs at the MFA, on July 12. Poloff follow
up on July 14 to get additional reactions and to receive a review of th
EU's own paper (reported septel).


2. (C) The Dutch would support a ban on reproductive cloning but oppos
the USG's sweeping opposition to all types of cloning. The Dutch suppo
the theories behind the Democracy Caucus and are cautiously willing to
learn more about how it might work in practice. Reducing Middle East
resolutions in the current climate, however welcome, will not happen.
Despite its merits, a stand-alone Anti-Semitism Resolution would confli
with the broader, established resolution on Religious Intolerance,
according to the Dutch. Trafficking in persons is an area for
collaboration, particularly relating to children. So is "advancing
economic freedom," a politically-charged formulation the Dutch prefer
rendering as "private sector development." End Summary.

SUPPORTIVE ON ADVANCING ECONOMIC FREEDOM


3. (SBU) Van Kesteren agreed completely with reftel points on Advanci
Economic Freedom, although he preferred the title "private sector
development." The latter seemed less threatening or politically charged
those we are trying to convince, he said. UN diplomats from some major
developing countries seem stuck in a time warp, he noted, arguing again
reftel points using old political theories discounted by finance and
foreign ministers at home. Now that there was consensus around reftel
points, as demonstrated by the Monterrey Consensus and other agreements
van Kesteren said we needed to find ways to help such Ministeries get t
word to their UN diplomats in New York.

SUPPORT FOR COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS


4. (U) DAS Lagon emphasized that this year, the USG would focus on
stopping the exploitation of children and work for a resolution in
addition to the Philippines resolution on trafficking. Van Kesteren sa
that focusing on children would be useful and would pose no problem for
the Dutch since it fell outside our differences regarding the sex busin
for adults.

SKEPTICAL ABOUT PROMOTING THE DEMOCRACY CAUCUS


5. (SBU) As reported Ref B, the Dutch are warily interested, albeit w
a "degree of skepticism" in the Democracy Caucus DC) and are considerin
if and how to be engaged in New York. Van Kesteren told Poloff he was
somewhat relieved by our explanation that the DC would augment, not
replace, established UN groups.

NO SUPPORT FOR BANNING ALL HUMAN CLONING


6. (C) The Dutch regret that our effort (supporting the Costa Rican
text) covers both reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Van Kesteren s
he was certain the UN could get action banning human cloning if it were
taken up separately. He predicted UNGA deadlock again this year,
prompting the suggestion that a subsequent move to UNESCO's Bioethics
Committee might be a way to get it off the UNGA agenda. A measure that
might be passed by a only narrow majority would not be useful, he said.
The Dutch see merit in delaying discussions until after the US election
he added.

NO REDUCTION IN MIDDLE EAST RESOLUTIONS AND ANTISEMITISM RESOLUTION
UNLIKELY


7. (C) The USG would "run into our own wall at the UN this year" on
Middle East resolutions, van Kesteren said. The Dutch have consulted w
the Palestinians in New York, who refuse to go along with consolidation
since multiple actions "were one of their only ways of getting back at
Israel." It might be possible to look at the UNRWA resolutions, howeve
A dedicated Resolution on Anti-Semitism in the Third Committee would be
too hard to pull off, he said, and the EU wants to ensure passage of th
Religious Intolerance Resolution which has anti-Semitism, Islamophobia,
and Christianophobia references in it. A stand-alone resolution would
accrete references to other forms of intolerance, duplicating the other
resolution, he concluded.

COMMENT


8. (C) The Dutch support half our UNGA proposals this year and
characterized all of them as drawn with a broad brush, designed for
politics and public consumption. We have good friends in the Dutch who
will tell us the truth as they see it this year in New York, even if it
not always what we want to hear.
RUSSEL